


Family Bonding

by OneLastMiracle



Series: Batfam Fables [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Gen, My small family just needs happiness, batbros, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:16:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5134118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneLastMiracle/pseuds/OneLastMiracle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't care if you panic, just panic quietly." Jason hissed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Bonding

\--------

The Red Hood was enjoying a nice clear night by the docks, staking out a Black Mask arms deal that he'd been following for the last few weeks. Waiting for the moment to strike, Gotham was fairly serene. Until he heard Nightwing's voice through his earpiece. 

“Come on Jason We need to spend more time together! We're your brothers let us come help you!” He sounded so eager over the comms.

Tim chimed in through the static,“B wouldn’t want you doing this alone.”

Jason rolled his eyes. B could go fuck a duck for all he cared.

“I don’t want you messing up my mission, Wing.” Jason sat back on his heels, observing the arms dealers on the docks.

He could almost hear Dick’s pout.

“Good thing you have us to stop that then, huh?” Robin’s voice sounded distinctly clearer than if it were over the comms unit. Jason sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“Really, the ten year old is here to help?” Jason muttered.

Robin, to his credit, did not murder Todd for such insolence, but instead rolled his shoulders. “Slow night.”

Behind him, Red Robin crossed his arms, voice flat "No such thing as too much back up." Nightwing landed next to him with a smug look on his face.

“Alright, fine. Have it your way, but I’m in charge.”

“Ab-so-lutely, Little Wing.” Dick soluted.

And with that they dropped down onto the docks, throwing punches, dodging bullets, disabling the gunmen.

Normal family indeed.

\-------

Stupid Dick. He really needed to stop trying to pretend they were a normal family and that they had regular lives just like anyone else. That is what got them into this mess.

His ‘brothers’ (affectionately dubbed by Dick as the BatBros) had joined him in his disarming and disassembling the arms trade that Black Mask had going on at the docks. Not generally run of the mill jobs for a Tuesday night, but it wasn’t exactly high profile for the Bats these days.

After they’d shown up, it had been a fairly easy fight, disarming and dislocating with ease and plenty of back up. Jason can’t exactly say he didn’t appreciate the help; it would have taken him more than twice as long, and probably would have left significantly more dead.

Between the Replacement and brat’s constant bickering and Dickie showing off by doing unnecessary flips, Jason could confidently say it was going well.

Until it wasn’t.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault _really_ that the sniper was overlooked. He was more than 200 meters away, on a dark rooftop, and why would there be a sniper overseeing the operation?

The struggle was almost over, the vigilantes were tired, but not exhausted, Nightwing catching up to the few who’d given chase. Red Hood and Red Robin were surveying the damage while Robin called in the GCPD. Overall, it was a good night, no one really hurt (Robin caught the bad end of a pipe in his ribs, but they’ve all had worse) and everyone was going into custody alive.

Jason heard the shot before he felt it. The unmistakeable echo, ringing out in darkness before he dropped to his knees, more out of training than anything. Red pain blossomed in his left shoulder, hot and angry.

_“SNIPER, GET DOWN.”_

There was a half second, no more, and Red Robin dove to the side, shoving Robin out of the path of the scope’s light as another explosion erupted from the gun.

They both hit the ground hard, Tim covering most of Damian, and holding them flat. Jason snapped back to the roof tops. _More than one, with the time between two shots less than a second. Gotta warn Dick._

“Nightwing, at least two snipers on the roof, edge of the docks.” His voice was deeper than usual, hurried. Dick could handle the situation, he was sure. “Robins are secure.”

And then hell broke loose. The doors that they’d just cleared filled with mercs, more of Black Mask’s goons. With more firepower than the first group had. Bullets grazed the air around him, and Red Hood decided he didn’t want to be a sitting duck. He rolled to some arms crates and managed to push himself up into a crouch, surveying for the replacement and the demonspawn.

Who hadn’t moved. Jason cursed every entity in this world and the next, both the younger boys were still lying flat on the ground, quickly getting surrounded.

“Snipers taken care of. Everyone okay?” Nightwing’s voice buzzed over the earpiece.

“Fuck, it was an ambush, get down here!” Hood snarled to the elder. “Robin, _MOVE_.”

Red Hood drew his guns, flicked the safety down and started shooting, hoping to give the two idiots in the field cover fire, as the new guns took cover. He’d put down about four or five when Nightwing landed heavily beside him, panting. “ What the hell? Why are Robin and Red Robin-”

Dick’s eyes were wide, his voice laced with concern.

“Don’t know, but they need to move. Now.” He cut in, stooping to reload and ignoring the bullet in his shoulder. Good thing they had plenty of 9mil in the boxes.

A thin voice came through their ears, “Red Robin is down.”

Jason was fairly sure both his and Dick’s hearts stopped for a brief moment.

 _Shit_. “Go I’ll give you cover.” Nightwing nodded, sprinting as low as he could, as Red Hood returned fire again.

By some stroke of luck, where the Robins had fallen, they had some cover, enough that when Dick grappled the two of them, he could drag them just a bit away.

Robin moved on his own, out from under the weight of Red Robin, who made no move to control his body. _Fuck_.

Nightwing felt the tinges of panic begin to sink in, as he tried to rouse Tim. He was pale, horribly so. Blood came off on his hand as Dick began to search for the wound. Curse Tim and his picking red and black, making bullet wounds that much harder to find.

“Hood, we can’t fight our way out of here. Nightwing is panicking, and Red Robin is not conscious.” Damian reported flatly.

Robin heard Jason curse from across the room, no comms needed. And again when his gun misfired and jammed.

This was not good. To say this was bad was an understatement, Jason knew. They were surrounded with thirty to forty mercs on them and one was out, he had one gun, and they were already fairly tired. Jason knew this was already tipped far too much out of their favour.

“Okay, listen. I cut the lights. Wing, you take RR to the room behind you, on your left 60 feet. Robin, get the door, wait for me, then we sort it out.”

He heard affirmations weakly and enacted his plan, cutting the thick cords near the doors, sending them into complete darkness. Jason switched on night vision in his helmet and took off.

Making as little noise as he could, Red Hood made his way to the same room he’d directed his brothers, taking care not to lead the rest of them in. The door closed silently behind him and Jason all but collapsed from the extenuated effort.

One, two, three, everyone was in the room.

“Well _that_ could have gone better.” Earning him a glare from the baby bat, Jason sank into a chair, allowing Robin to barricade the door.

“Red Robin?! Red Robin, _can you hear me_?!” Nightwing had found the bullet wound, in his lower chest, between the ribs on his left. He pressed down hard, willing the bleeding to stop.

Dick was panicking. That much was obvious.

“Any louder, Nightwing? We want them to know where we are.” Jason grunted. “He’ll be fine. We just need to get out of here.”

Damian stood at the door, his face screwed as he watched silently. Jason’s shoulder spasmed and he winced as he lay heavily against the wall.

“He’s been shot in the chest, Hood! How could you let this happen!?” Dick’s voice rose an octave as he pressed harder.

Jason rolled his eyes. “So have all of us. And if you think I _let_ this -”

“Todd’s been shot as well.” Damian interrupted clearly.

Jason wanted to curse the small bat for saying anything, as Dick swiveled to him as well (careful to maintain Tim’s pressure cloth). “Oh my god Jay-”

Red Hood shook his head, annoyed at the circumstance and how quickly it had gone bad. Robin hadn’t even been able to get their location to the GCPD. “Shut up. Shut up and let me think.”

He could feel Nightwing’s concern radiating towards him as well as Robins glower. Not much from Red Robin though. At least someone wasn’t angry with him. “We need to call-”

“No, we don’t. Just, give me a minute.”

“Jason, Tim’s gonna d-”

“I swear to god, Dick, I don’t care if you panic, just do it quietly.”

And that shut him up. Okay, so three out of four of them could walk, and Dick could carry Tim, at least to wherever the car was waiting. But first they had to get out. Jason was at no shortage of bullets, but he would need to make an obvious target so the others could get around the guns and get through the bay doors. Or, alternatively there were windows in the room, but that was no good.

Jason sat contemplating (Todd you look constipated. Yes, thank you Robin.) while Dick fussed (quietly) over Red Robin, for a while until he spoke, “Okay two plans. Plan A, I go out there, set off a few grenades, pop some caps, while you three get out the doors and grapple hook away.”

Nightwing’s brow furrowed as he shook his head. “You’re already injured and you want to be the distraction?”

Red Hood scoffed. “ You have to carry the replacement, and would you rather baby bird get shot? I’ll do it.”

Dick looked like he wanted to object, but Damian spoke from the corner “And Plan B?”

A grin spread across Jason’s face as he looked to the windows. “We drop three plus stories into the freezing water of Gotham Bay.”

Both brothers shivered. “Plan A it is.”

\--------

So Plan A didn't go exactly as they wanted; as soon as they opened the door, they were surrounded. Covered in a hail of bullets, the brothers backed further into the room. They had kevlar, but there was only so much kevlar could do. Jason was forced to rethink his plan, and precisely  _then_ the grenades rolled into the room, a handful of them, all missing pins.

" _GRENADE!"_ Damian shouted, backing to the wall.

With significantly  _less_ time than he wanted, Red Hood settled into Plan B. He shot blindly at the wall behind them and grabbed the nearest vigilante to him, Robin, and promptly threw him out the window (which thankfully broke when Jason had shot it)

Nightwing didn't need to be told to move and dove after the boy, hopefully catching up to him before the unforgiving water.

Which left Jason with the unconscious Tim. And dammit if he was going to abandon another Robin to die in a warehouse alone. He scooped up the unconscious teen (who was stupidly lightweight, why did he weigh less than demonspawn?) and promptly dove through the window. 

There was enough time for Red Hood to adjust their position midair, flipping to take the brunt of the water on his back and away from the injured bird in his arms. He turned in time to see the room he'd just left explode outwards and erupt in flames. 

 _Nice._ Jason had time to wince before their fall was caught by the icy dark water of the bay.

No matter how many times you practiced it, it was still jarring, and just like every other time, Jason wished he could be on a beach somewhere and not dealing with this bullshit.

But the cold water did help him focus, as did the biting sharp pain from his shoulder, exacerbated by the motion he required to tread water and keep Tim and himself afloat. It was a harder task than it looked. 

For a couple of minutes, Jason simply watched the building burn, before he turned his attention to the approaching sirens. Seems Robin  _did_ get their coordinates after all. 

And the rest was a bit of a blur, hands helping him out, a laugh that was too loud and too misplaced, a hug that made him tense, and of course, the ever present pain of the stupid bullet.

\--------

Jason woke unaware of when he'd fallen asleep. He remembered last night, from the banter to the ambush to leaping out a window. Then the ambulance and he'd woken up in the cave. Not that this was the first time, but it was still odd to wake up here, since his death anyway.

After a quick inventory, Jason found his wounds had been cleaned and dressed (the neat stitching undoubtedly Alfred's handiwork). He was a bit sore, but still fairly in good shape. 

Tim was in the bed next to his, pale as ever (seriously did that kid ever see the sun?) but a significant improvement from what Jason remembered him as last. And he was also awake and sitting up. 

"Oh good. Glad you're not dead." Jason's voice still gruff from sleep. 

Tim gave a slight smile and nodded to the end of the bed, where Dick was passed out across the end. "I hear I have you to thank for that." 

Jason scowled and shook his head.

"And I am also in your _debt_ , Todd." Damian interrupted before Jason could respond to either. "Thank you for  _defenestrating me._ "

At that, Jason smiled. "I always wanted to throw you out a window. I was just waiting for the chance."

Dick grumbled at the end of Drake's bed, sitting up blearily. "Jaybird?"

"No more family bonding." Jason replied curtly.

The eldest frowned, confused. 

Tim agreed from his bed as well. "Yeah, I mean, half of us got shot and we all got hypothermia. Maybe next time we could just have a movie night or something." Damian grunted in agreement.

Dick's smile returned full force. 

"Okay, but  _I_ get to pick the movie!" 

Damian, Tim, and Jason all spoke at once.

"Grayson, you have the worst taste in movies-"

"You weren't even the one that got shot-"

"Goldie, you're mental if you think-"

-

And in the next room over, Bruce listened to his children bickering with an amused smile on his face. 

Alfred hummed contentedly. "Something funny, Master Bruce?"

"Just glad to have everyone home, that's all."

**Author's Note:**

> For NaNoWriMo, I'm doing several short stories. Hopefully one a day, but also uni happens, so we'll try.


End file.
